1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of processing customer's orders and a customer's order processing apparatus. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of processing customer's orders with displaying orders at a kitchen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A customer's order processing apparatus is known. In this prior art customer's order processing apparatus, customer's orders are transmitted to a kitchen to display the orders to prepare the ordered dishes. FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a prior art customer's order processing apparatus. The prior art customer's order processing apparatus includes electronic cash registers (ECR) 231, a communication path 232, a kitchen video controller (KVC) 233, a display monitor 234, and a monitor switch 235.
FIG. 24 is an illustration of a keyboard of the cash register 231 of the prior art customer's order processing apparatus. The keyboard includes article keys 241, numeric keys 242, a subtotal key 243, and a total key 244.
FIG. 25 depicts a flow chart of the prior art customer's order processing apparatus showing example operation of inputting orders. An operator successively operates the article keys 241 to input article data of a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a medium size package of fried potato, a cola in steps s1 to s3, for example, and operates the subtotal key 243 and the total key 244 as the operator is hearing the orders by the customer.
FIG. 26 is an illustration of a monitor switch 235 of the prior art customer's order processing apparatus. The monitor switch 235 includes a holding key 261, a rotating key 262, and a served key 263.
FIG. 27 is an illustration of the prior art customer's order processing apparatus showing example images of customer's orders. The customers orders are displayed on the display monitor 234 in order of time. Display image 271 represents two-set-prior orders, display image 272 represents one-set-prior orders, and display image 273 represents the present orders. FIG. 28 is an illustration of the prior art customer's order processing apparatus showing another example images of customer's orders. In FIG. 28, the oldest set of the orders in FIG. 27 has been erased.
In the prior art customer's order processing apparatus at a restaurant or the like, article data is registered with the electronic cash register 231. The article data is transmitted to the kitchen video controller 233 through the communication path 232. The kitchen video controller 233 displays the article data received from the electronic cash register 231 on the display monitor 234 as shown in FIG. 27. The cooks prepare articles with monitoring the display monitor 234. When a cook has finished preparing the articles, the cook depresses the monitor switch 235 to erase the display image of the corresponding set of orders.
Generally, in the electronic cash register 231, the names of articles are set on the keyboard of the electronic cash register 231 as shown in FIG. 24, so that ordering processing can be performed only by depressing the keys in accordance with the orders by a customer. For example, when an operator receives orders of a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a medium size of fried potato, and a cola, as shown in FIG. 25, the operator successively depresses the article keys 241 to input article data of a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a medium size package of fried potato, a cola in steps s1 to s3, and operates the subtotal key 243 in step s4, and the total key 244 in step s5, as the operator is hearing the orders by the customer. If the ordering has finished, the operator depresses the subtotal key 243. Then, a total amount is displayed and the operator announces the total amount. Then, the operator receives the payment and depresses the total key 244 for accounting processing. Then, the counting processing has finished and a receipt is provided to the customer.
The kitchen video controller 233 operates the 5 display monitor 234 at the kitchen to display sets of orders in order of time to cooks, wherein, as shown in FIG. 27, the first set of order 271 is displayed at the leftmost of the screen of the display monitor 234, the second set of order 272 is displayed on the right of the first order 271, and the last set of order 273 is display on the right of the second set of order 272. The number “#0103” represents the order number. For example, “#0103” represents the third set of orders in the electronic cash register 231 having the machine number one. If the first set of orders 271 are received as shown in FIG. 25, the display monitor 234 successively displays two “hamburgers”, two “cheeseburgers”, one “L size package of fried potato”, and three cups of “tea”. Cooks in the kitchen prepare the corresponding articles with monitoring the display monitor 234. When cooking has finished, the cook erases the display image of the corresponding set of orders on the display monitor 234.
The holding key 261 of the monitor switch 235 is a stacking key for shifting the display image of one set of orders to another place on the screen of the display monitor 234 when it will take for a long time period to prepare the corresponding articles.
The rotating key 262 of the monitor switch 235 is a key for swapping the display image of one set of order with the next order on the screen of the display monitor 234 when the preparing order is changed. The served key 263 is a key for erasing the data of order and erasing the display image of the order. When the served key 263 is depressed, the display image is changed as shown in FIG. 28 from the image shown in FIG. 27.